Financial Institutions in PNG urged to make technology easier for users

FINANCIAL institutions in Papua New GUinea who are using financial technology (FINTECH) to sell their products and services should make it easy and accessible for everyone to understand and use.
Microfinance Information Exchange (Mix) Market director of operations Sachin Hirani told financial institutions at a capacity building workshop that some people do not understand how to use these new technologies. “People pay for electricity bills using their phones but that is only for people who understand and have the access to the application,” Hirani said.

“These services are not being used by people who are illiterate and do not have access to mobile phones or technology that has this applications.
“Financial technology must be financially inclusive and transparent to all members of the society to be able to use.”
Hirani said financial technology was rapidly changing and new technologies were developed with new applications which people can use to pay for anything they wanted to buy.
“In overseas countries like India, you pay for food and other things just by using your mobile phone and the applications in it.”
Financial institutions would be approached by investors in the technological field to partner with them to bring their services and products to an online portal.
“Financial institutions must analyse whether the service will be financially inclusive for all members of society,” he said.
“You need to ask does it reduce the cost, does it improve the customers experience and is it a new value propositio